Zone one: the public spaces

On the ground level of the Wishing Place, a central entrance lobby opens south to the public zone. This area is used for wish presentations, wish family activities, public interactivity, and for training and conferencing events.

Wish presentation

When it is time for a child to receive a wish space for that activity is available in the Hall of Hope, Strength and Joy. Most wish celebration parties now take place there. Unlike a family home, our facility allows a child to invite many friends and family members to share in the joy of the wish presentation or the bon voyage before a travel experience. Volunteer groups and donor sponsors can participate; and youth volunteers called Wish Apprentices are on call to help decorate the space in a unique way for each wish and provide hospitality to the child's guests. Several of these events take place each week and make a wish celebration an occasion to remember always.

Star Raising Ceremonies

While we were designing the building, many wish children commented in our focus groups that they wanted to be able "to leave something behind" after their wish. This was an expression of hope in a future when they would get well and return to visit. We asked Utah artists to submit ideas for an interactive sculpture in the lobby to accommodate this feature. Wish children voted on the artists' renderings that were submitted, and the commission was awarded to Kathy Peterson, a glass artist in Ephraim, who designed a 30-foot long "Rainbow of Stars." Now, after a wish is complete, a wish child engraves a stained glass star in the color of her choice with a personal message, and we stage a "star raising" ceremony in the lobby to install her star in the constellation overhead. These ceremonies are a popular activity for wish children, who often return with friends or out-of-town family to show off their star.

Building Communities Around Each Wish

Families in the focus groups that helped design our building said that the most important value of a wish for them was a feeling of support and solidarity from the larger community of friends and strangers. We therefore did all we could in the building to enhance this feeling of support and positive morale. Wish celebration parties and star raising ceremonies include as many loved ones as the child wants to invite. Guests register their thoughts in a beautiful handmade registry in the lobby which is adorned later with photos of the event. Wish Children even leave messages of encouragement in the registry for other wish children, affirming the special community of children who face the challenges of life-threatening illness.

Hospitality

Children from other states and countries visit Utah in fulfillment of a wish that is taking place in our state. We arrange the itineraries for these families and we act as their local hosts and guides. These families stay in Salt Lake coming and going, even if their wish experience whisks them away from the city to dinosaur digs or float trips or ski resorts. A Wishing Place is now the point of hospitality for these special guests, where they can be welcomed, oriented, and provided with a "base camp” during their stay in Utah. Neighboring hotels adjacent to A Wishing Place also offer lodging to Utah families who might travel to Salt Lake when it is time to make a wish or who spend the night in Salt Lake before an early flight when they are departing on a wish adventure elsewhere.

Family networking activities

The Make-A-Wish Foundation stages regular recreational activities for Utah children and families. These activities are provided for purposes of fun and respite, and to network families who share the same challenges. They have included seasonal parties like Easter Egg Hunts and Breakfasts with Santa; meet-and-greets with athletes like the Jazz players or musicians; Olympic pin-trading events; concerts and art parties; square dances and magic shows. We previously rented space for these activities, but now The Wishing Place will bring many of these activities in house, and make additional activities possible.

Volunteer training and development

We previously outsourced space all over the state for volunteer trainings, meetings, orientations, conferences and board meetings. Now A Wishing Place allows us to host these events without rental costs. A Wishing Place provides training and meetings space for our 250 volunteers, as well as many community partners.